Natural drug-free obesity treatment

Dr Rubina Aktar came to Queen Mary as an undergraduate to become a scientist.

Now, having also completed her PhD and post-doc training at Queen Mary, she's the co-founder of an exciting new spinout alongside Dr Madusha Peiris, group leader of Queen Mary’s enteric neurobiology research team, who also launched her scientific and entrepreneurial career here at Queen Mary.

Together, they were the first scientists to uncover the depth of nutrient sensing by the human gut.

Their studies showed for the first time that our entire gut can taste different types of nutrients – ones that come from meat, dairy and vegetable sources. Importantly, they showed that the last part of our gut – the colon, where most of our L-cells storing GLP-1 and PYY are found – is highly receptive to nutrients.

Their discovery led them to create Elcella, a drug-free weight loss treatment which, instead of relying upon synthetic hormones, uses nutrients to prompt the release of our own gut hormones to control appetite naturally without side effects.

It is the world’s first product scientifically proven to do so, and it's gained significant media attention including in The Times, The Mail, New York Post, Men's Health, and Technology Networks. 

In creating Elcella, with support from Queen Mary Innovation, Dr Peiris and Dr Aktar are bringing an ingenious science-backed solution to an ever-growing global challenge.

Grounded in research

Elcella is built on ten years of research at Queen Mary, including a ‘Eureka’ moment and a ‘Hallelujah’ moment.

The team’s ‘Eureka’ moment came when they realised that receptors act like locks that sit on top of our enteroendocrine cells, keeping them in ‘off’ mode until they are unlocked. Dr Peiris’ team found that nutrients are the keys and that in the human colon, certain types of nutrients are very effective at unlocking cells to switch them to ‘on’ mode.

The team subjected their discovery to a series of clinical trials led by Dr Aktar, which demonstrated that delivering a specific combination of nutrients to the colon could boost the levels of gut hormones naturally, without drugs, leading to reduced appetite and consumption of fewer calories.

This was the ‘Hallelujah’ moment – by showing results from the lab worked in real people, the team had crossed from research into innovation and created a completely new approach to weight management.

A new approach to healthy eating

Elcella is helping people who have struggled with their weight for a long time, have repeatedly tried to get healthy, and who seek a drug-free, natural and scientifically grounded approach. 

Conventional weight loss drugs use artificial versions of gut hormones (GLP-1 and/or GIP) that hang-around the body for much longer than intended by nature – which is why they have so many side-effects.

These medicines – albeit useful for curbing appetite and supporting weight loss – do not fix or support gut health. Instead, they create a drug dependency that leads to weight regain as the appetite resurges in the absence of artificial hormones.

Elcella’s nutrient approach gets to the bottom of the problem by getting our gut to do what it should be doing – releasing our own hormones at sufficient levels to control appetite and cravings. Over time, our gut gets healthier, learns to regulate itself better, and Elcella can be taken as a supplement to simply support gut health. All without side-effects, prescriptions and drug dependency.

A Queen Mary journey

Invented, commercialised and manufactured here in the UK, and now expanding into Europe and America, Elcella is a prime example of how British science and innovation can take on the world’s biggest challenges.

It also demonstrates the growing entrepreneurial culture here at Queen Mary – both co-founders launched their careers at Queen Mary.

Dr Madusha Peiris joined Queen Mary following her PhD, rising to Senior Lecturer in Enteric Neurobiology before leading Elcella as founder and CEO.  Dr Rubina Aktar came to Queen Mary as a biomedical science student. She completed her degree, PhD and post-doc training all at Queen Mary, before joining Elcella as co-founder and COO.

Queen Mary Innovation, our tech transfer office, supported the journey from research to innovation. QMI help researchers to assess the market for their innovation, protect the intellectual property, create a business plan, and secure the investment they need to get to market.

We’re incredibly proud of the science behind Elcella and we continue to support their ongoing research and their growth as a spinout.